Response to Blog - Abby Lindamoon 2/23/09

Listening to the clips they do have different delivery and as a result different moods they convey. We can agree that the timbre is different in which case Cyndi Lauper has a mixture of different instruments and her voice is uplifting and pushes forth excitement. In the second version, the piano is the only timbre we hear and Laswell's voice is opposite of Cyndi's in which it is slow and sad. Now after establishing this, lets answer the question posed: What element of music is essential to the meaning of the song?

I don't think we can break up the elements of music as to say which one is the most important and which one is the least important. They all go hand in hand. Trying to distinguish the least important element and the most important element is like trying to distinguish the most important color in a painting or sculpture. You cannot look at a painting and say, "hey this is a good painting but I think the most important color is the blue of the sky rather than the green of the grass" or "the colors are more important than the lines." In the two versions of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" there isn't just difference in one element to say that changing one element was important in the drastic change of the songs. There was a difference in tempo, timbre, key, rhythm, etc. When you think of one element you may have to change others so it will sound consonant and not dissonant. I would guess that it is an all for one deal when thinking about elements in music.

After establishing this we see that music needs all its elements however thinking about movies and our favorite shows: Would we be able to enjoy a movie (or show) without there being any music to convey emotion?

Sexual Rage and Music

Today in class we talked about music being associated with sexual rage. It was said that we like music during a particular time in our life (teen years) because it may have been the cause of raging hormones and the means by which teens could expiate them. Looking back, as I mentioned in class, I look at the 1950's as a real milestone. It was a time of newly found independence for teens because they were no longer expected to stay home. They had money, they had cars, they had ROCK AND ROLL. Rock and Roll marked a huge issue between children and parents because parents found the lyrics and beats offencive and sexual. The only way to dance to this music was close to a partner at a fast pace with a lot of sexual like hip movements. When I confront my mom with questions about this period of time, although she was just born, she would say something like "Oh yea I remember those songs, those were fun times and for young people, I'm too old to move like that anymore." It is interesting how the music my mom had an interest in as a teen no longer appeals to her much (although she would occasionally sing a song from back in the day) as it did when she was younger.

Music is sexual just by the actions it makes us do and the thoughts it makes us have. Action wise, music makes people dance. Some music could just make people jump up and down, but then there is other music that causes people to replicate the actions of sex. Ever been to a West Indian party? If you have you would know that the type of music that is played there causes people to grind and whine on each other and just makes people look like they are having sex with clothes on. The guy is usually behind the girl, although he can be in front of her facing her, and the guy would be thrusting to the rhythm of the music as the girl places her backside on him and moves back as he moves back and moves forward as he moves forward. There are some crazy things that happens on the floor in the air, some really crazy dances as a result of the pace of the music. Looking at sexual thoughts, after dancing like this there is of course the topic of sex in the mind and even physical arousal.

Music has many sexual qualities and are associated with many cultures that have sexual purposes for it. Even the classics "Lets Get it on" and "When I get that feeling" are obviously sex related. Music has gotten more and more sexual as the generations passed. I don't mind the classics because there is a sort of subtlety to it. These days, however everything has a sexual meaning and action associated with it. So to tie into this topic my question is: Has music gotten too sexual? Can music get so sexual that it couldn't be considered music anymore?